Today, I’m here with Jeff Hess, Product Specialist at Empower Brokerage, and we’re going over questions for millennials. The younger generations don’t understand the insurance world or how it works. We thought it would be a great idea to clear up a little bit of those confusions.

What do all our premiums pay into?

Actually, your premiums are paid to the carriers that are insuring you. Basically, you’re paying $200-$300 if you’re paying all your premium, but ultimately, the premium depends on several factors like income and your current situation, which can qualify you for tax credits or subsidies. You’re paying for the financial security if you really think about it because the cost of healthcare has gone exponentially over the last few years.

A couple days in the hospital can equal 10’s of thousands even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. So, the amount of money that you’re paying for the premium is really protection against big emergencies. Emergencies can bankrupt and ruin lives permanently, as people struggle to get out of debt.

Is there any way for someone to stay on their parent’s plan after 26?

That’s actually pretty set in stone, at least for the ACA. So regardless of whether you actually live with your parents or not, you canstay on their group plans or individual plans until the age of 26. Once 26, you have to purchase your own insurance whether that’s through your job orthrough the ACA. Again, this rule is set in stone. The only exception is if you have a disability where you are unable to take care of yourself. This applies to your daily activities, such as feeding and dressing.

Do you know the average cost of a millennials health insurance might be?

Itranges depending on the plan and also the state that you’re in. If we’re not taking income into consideration, then the range can be from zero to anywhere from about $225 a month. For people within 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, the premium will go down substantially. That’s why no one should go out to healthcare.gov by themselves. My advice is to get with an agent. They’ll make sure you’re not paying anymore for insurance than necessary.

I saw a family that has four kids ranging from age 20 to 27. They said they all went out on their own to healthcare.gov and couldn’t figure it out. None of them got the advanced tax credits on their premium. Based oninformationthey gave me, they were able to not only get their premiums cut in half, but two of them were also able to get cautioning subsidies. This meansthey get money to paytheir premiums, but they also got their deductible reduced from$5,000 down to $1,200. So again, get with an agent; it’ll make a big difference!

Since insurance is often times overwhelmingly confusing, we want to shed light on this industry by answering YOUR questions. So if you have any questions or concerns, comment below and your question may be the topic of our next video!